Love and War
by BellaLeigh1
Summary: When Andrea Labonair runs away from her own birthday party, she has only two things on her mind: getting good and drunk, and testing out the fake I.D. that she hopes will be her ticket to freedom. And then Elijah Mikaelson of all people throws one heck of a monkey wrench in her escape plans. The question is, will either of them live long enough for them to find their happy ending?
1. A Tale of Two Engagements

_**This is my first attempt at an AU. It's going to be a Romeo and Juliet type story. Everybody is strictly human. **_

_**TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNING:A bit of non-con and later chapters may get pretty violent. **_

**~Love and War~**

Elijah's phone buzzed, making him put the contract he was reading down to look at it. He had to smile when he saw that it was a group text from Marcel to the three younger Mikaelson brothers.

MG: SHE SAID YES!

NM: Look at him acting like he's surprised. I mean, it's not like Rebekah has been chasing him since second grade, or anything.

He laughed and started typing into his phone.

EM: Leave him be, Niklaus. He's allowed to be excited, today. Congratulations, Marcel. And welcome to the family.

MG: Thank you! Anyway, we are all going out to Rousseau's to celebrate. Elijah, you are not allowed to work late, tonight.

KM: You know that Rousseau's is out for me, guys.

NM: You do know that you are allowed to leave Davina for one night, right? You aren't actually required to spend every waking moment with her.

MG: It's okay, Klaus. Kol and Davina are new. Rebekah and I totally understand. We were actually thinking of taking them out to dinner one night for a double date. But, you and Elijah have no excuse, and are meeting us at Rousseau's.

EM: If I tried to say that I have a client meeting on Monday I need to prepare for, what are the odds of me being alive to worry about it?

MG: Rebekah knows where you sleep.

EM: That's what I thought. Well, that means that I need to get back to work so I get everything together before I need to be over there. I'll see you this evening.

He muted his phone and put it down. And then picked the contract he had been reading back up. Actually, taking a night off would probably be a good thing. The words were all starting to move around the page. He started organizing his papers and putting them into his briefcase. His little sister would probably have a fit if she knew that he intended to spend the weekend working. But, at least he wouldn't miss her engagement party.

**~Love and War~**

What Andrea really wanted was a fricking drink. Which, shouldn't be that damned hard, today of all days. But, no. Somehow, alcohol was nowhere to be found. Who threw a twenty-first birthday party and didn't have alcohol? People who needed to control every aspect of the birthday girl's life, that's who.

She was getting sick of it. And the way Jackson and her foster parents kept glancing over at her told her that her night was only going to get worse. And that she was going to need a whole lot of alcohol to get through it. Between the speculative looks, and the way they all kept whispering together… She was pretty sure that she didn't even want to know what they were planning.

And then Jackson stood up and walked over to her. Taking her hand, he dragged her into the center of the room. "Can I have everybody's attention, please?" The room grew quiet as everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at them. "As you all know, it was decided a very long time ago that someday, Andrea and I would get married. Today, on her twenty-first birthday, I am taking the first step to making that happen."

Decided by who? Her parents? Or was it really just her foster parents, telling her that this is what her parents would want as a way to control her? If it really was her parents, then she hoped that they were burning in Hell.

The bastard didn't even pretend that this actually had anything to do with her. Never mind getting on one knee, he didn't even bother to _ask_ her. He just pulled a ring box out of his pocket, opened it, and forced the gaudiest ring she had ever seen in her life onto her finger. Yeah, let's not even pretend that she had a choice, here. Let's not even pretend that what she wanted mattered at all. What was it to her, anyway? Just the entire rest of her life.

Everyone was staring at her, waiting for her to say something. She looked at the horrible ring on her finger, and said the only acceptable thing she could bring herself to say. "It's huge." Somebody snickered. It sounded like Oliver. _Get your mind out of the gutter, asshole. Somehow I really doubt I'm going to be saying anything remotely like that on my wedding night. _After all, with his penchant for the big, expensive, and flashy, Jackson was probably seriously compensating for something.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" Crap! If there was one thing she really didn't want, it was to kiss Jackson Kenner. But, as with everything else about her life, nobody cared what she wanted. Least of all, Jackson. Before she had time to react, she was in his arms, his mouth was on hers, and his tongue was forcing it's way into her mouth. It was all she could do not to gag.

And there was everybody cheering. Either nobody noticed her utter disgust, or nobody cared. She was betting on the latter. Nobody here gave a damn about her. Was this really going to be her life? And then she had people patting her on the back and congratulating her. For what, exactly? It wasn't like she wanted any part of this.

Eventually, everything settled down, and she ran to the bathroom to rinse her mouth out. Except, when she got out, Jackson was waiting for her in the hallway. "So… I was thinking you should spend the night, tonight. We could have a more private celebration."

Sex. The man was asking her for sex. If she had anything to say about it, she would die a virgin before she ever had sex with him. Though, she had a horrible suspicion that she wouldn't have a say in that, either. But, she wasn't quite his property, yet.

"I promised myself a long time ago that I would save myself for my wedding night. I'm not getting a say in anything else, at least let me have that."

"Yeah. Of course. It will make it that much more special, then. I can wait." Somehow it didn't surprise her that the rest went straight over his head. Or, more likely, he just didn't care what she wanted. But, at least she had bought herself some time.

She needed some air. Actually, what she needed was to run. Run far away and never come back. She had a fake I.D. that she had never used, but Tyler swore would stand up to any scrutiny. Even get her onto a plane. She would still need to figure something out later. Because he would know the name she was using. But, she could become Hayley Marshall long enough to get out of New Orleans. Pawn this horrible ring, use that money to hop onto a plane to somewhere far away. Then hitchhike to somewhere else, so there was no way to track her. She grabbed her purse.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow she would run. Fly to New York, and then hitchhike to Chicago or somewhere. And take back her fucking life. But for tonight, she still really needed a fucking drink. Seemed like the perfect way to test out her I.D.


	2. Just One Drama Free Night

Rousseau's seemed like a pretty nice place. Not that Andrea… no, Hayley, she had to get used to answering to Hayley… had much in the way of comparison. Just what she saw on tv and movies, really. But, the lighting was brighter than what she was expecting and it had more of a cozy feel. Actually, with the number of tables, it almost looked more like a restaurant than a bar. And why had she been expecting it to be smoky in here? She really had watched too much tv, probably.

She started to walk to the bar to order herself her first real drink, when the events of the day finally caught up to her. Her stomach was doing flips, it felt like. She tried to fight it, but the queasiness was definitely too much to ignore. She ran to the bathroom.

**~Love and War~ **

Elijah wasn't really surprised to be the last one to arrive. He was the workaholic in the group, after all. Which meant that he was probably the only one still at work when Marcel texted them.

The others were already at a table, and Rebekah was waving him over. He had to laugh when he noticed that she was waving with her left hand. Showing off that new ring.

He walked over to them, and kissed her on the cheek, then gave Niklaus and Marcel quick hugs. "Sorry I'm late. Had some last minute paperwork to take care of." He took the empty seat between Niklaus and Rebekah, and draped his suit jacket over the back of the chair.

"You and your paperwork. And just work in general. You need to loosen up a bit."

"If you ask me, what he needs is to get laid."

"Honestly, Niklaus, must you be so vulgar? My sex life is hardly any of your concern."

"Maybe not. But it should be _somebody's _concern. You are in desperate need of a good time, big brother."

"Nik, enough. We're here to celebrate, not to give Elijah a hard time about that stick he's got shoved up his ass."

That stung a bit. Was that really how his family saw him? Yes, he tended to be more serious than the others. But, somebody needed to be serious around here. Besides, part of that was from trying to be a buffer between them and their father - and lately their oldest brother. Not that he could let it show that he was hurt by the remarks. Not tonight. He didn't want to ruin Rebekah's evening. Tonight was supposed to be about her. Dealing with his own issues could wait. "So, little sister, are you going to show me that ring of yours?"

And, situation defused. Rebekah squealed and held out her left hand. Elijah didn't know much about jewelry, but the ring did certainly seem to be to her tastes. In fact, he was pretty sure that he saw her eying that very ring not a month ago when Kol had dragged them all out to look at earrings for Davina's birthday. He raised an eyebrow at Marcel, who winked in return. Come to think of it, did Kol even buy anything that trip?

It seemed that his future brother-in-law was quite sneaky when he wanted to be. Though, Elijah had to admit that it was a good way to make sure she would like the ring while still making it a surprise.

And then Rebekah stood up. "I need to use the ladies room. Elijah, when I get back, it will be your turn to buy drinks. That's what you get for being late." She stuck her tongue out at him before turning and walking away.

Elijah just smiled and shook his head.

**~Love and War~ **

Every time Hayley thought she had finally emptied her stomach, she caught sight of the huge, gaudy ring Jackson had forced onto her left hand and found herself heaving, again. Finally, she took the thing off and shoved it in her purse. Much like her fiance himself, that ring was nothing she would have chosen for herself. It wasn't meant as a symbol of love and commitment. It was a sign of ownership. A flashing neon sign shouting for all the world to see that Andrea Labonair was taken. Whether she wanted to be or not.

When she finally felt safe leaving the stall, she found herself face to face with a very pretty blonde. "You all right, there?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine." She washed her hands and then rinsed her mouth out. "Just having a bit of a rough night, is all."

"A bit too much to drink, then?"

Hayley shrugged. "Actually, I haven't even started drinking, yet."

"Okay, if it isn't too much alcohol, and you aren't sick, then what is it? Please don't tell me that you're pregnant. Because you would have no business being here, if you were."

Hayley laughed at that. "No. Not pregnant. Not even a remote possibility. Family drama has me stressed out, is all."

"If you don't mind my asking, what kind of family drama has you so stressed that you're in here puking your guts out?"

"Honestly? The kind of family drama that would have a girl run away from her own birthday party because spending her twenty-first birthday in jail waiting for her murder trial didn't sound like her idea of a good time." And she was telling this to a stranger because? Oh, yeah. Because that stranger seemed more concerned about her than the people who were supposed to care about her ever were.

"Well, happy birthday! Though, if you were at your own twenty-first birthday party, how in the world have you not had anything to drink yet, today?"

"You know, I spent most of the time I was at my party asking myself that same question."

"Well, then. You are in desperate need of some fun. My fiance, my brothers, and I are all here celebrating my engagement. You can help me break up the sausage fest that my party somehow became, and I can make my brother buy you your first legal drink."

"You don't have to do that. I'm fine, really. I am perfectly capable of buying my own drinks."

"Not on your birthday, you aren't. I'm Rebekah, by the way."

"I'm Hayley." She was quite proud of how the name just rolled off her tongue. There was no hesitation at all. It seemed that leaving Andrea behind might not be as difficult as she would have thought it would be.

"Nice to meet you, Hayley. Now then, if you're quite finished emptying your stomach, we should get out there before one of the boys bugs some poor waitress to come check on me - or decides to just come in here, himself."

"Rebekah, that's really very sweet of you. But, you don't really want to spend one of the happiest days of your life hanging out with some girl you just met in a public restroom. Especially not one who just admitted to maybe not being the best company, tonight." Inwardly, she was sighing. While Rebekah was out celebrating her engagement, Hayley was throwing up every time she even thought of her own. It wasn't fair, really. What had she done to deserve not having a say in her own life? So, she was born a Labonair. She hadn't exactly asked for _that _either. Was she being punished for something she did in a previous life?

"That's quite enough of that, young lady. If I didn't want you to join us, I wouldn't have asked. Come along, then." And she grabbed Hayley's arm and pulled her out of the restroom and back into the bar. And to a table where three very good looking men were sitting.

**~Love And War~ **

Elijah couldn't help raising an eyebrow when Rebekah came back to the table all but dragging a very pretty young woman along with her.

"Everyone, this is Hayley. She ran away from her own twenty-first birthday party to keep from murdering some fool who was making her night miserable. Since nobody is allowed to be sad, tonight, and she _really _shouldn't be allowed to be sad on her own birthday, I asked her to join us."

Elijah and Marcel both jumped up. Marcel grabbed Rebekah's chair, took her hand, and guided her into it. He then kissed her hand before pushing the chair in for her. Elijah could hear Niklaus snorting in the background, but personally, he thought it was cute. Perhaps a little over the top, but they were here to celebrate their engagement. Somewhat flamboyant displays were to be expected, tonight. After all, the evening was supposed to be all about making Rebekah feel special.

He had to laugh at Hayley's raised eyebrow when he grabbed an unused chair from the next table and held it for her. "I'll leave displays like that to my future brother-in-law, but I _am _still a gentleman. Please, have a seat."

"Thank you." Her smile as she sat down was downright captivating.

"You are very welcome." As he pushed her chair in, he suddenly noticed that he had put Hayley next to his own seat. The only downside to that was that it made it harder for him to look at her without being obvious about it.

And then Rebekah went around the table introducing everyone. Though, Hayley didn't seem to be paying much attention. Then again, something had happened to her that was bad enough to make her leave her own birthday party. She certainly had a right to be distracted.

"Honestly, Rebekah. Some things never change."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Nik."

"You were always bringing stray kittens and wounded birds home as a child. Your helpless animals may have gotten bigger, but your need to fix everything hasn't."

Elijah sighed. He would have said something about his brother talking about this poor girl as if she wasn't there, except… it seemed as if her mind, at least, was a million miles away, anyway.

"So, Hayley, which one are you?"

Hayley blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I was just wondering what kind of helpless animal my baby sister has brought us this time. Are you a stray kitten or a wounded bird?"

"Leave her alone, Niklaus."

"No. It's fine. I'm the one intruding on a family gathering, after all."

Rebekah rolled her eyes. "It isn't intruding when the guest of honor doesn't just invite you, but makes you go."

Hayley laughed at that, a sound that Elijah found himself wanting to hear more of. If this girl didn't disappear on them at the end of the night, he was willing to make it his personal mission to make her laugh more often. Maybe even manage to do something about that haunted look in her eyes.

"I guess that would make me a wounded bird. I mean, I have a home. I'm just having a rough night. A few hours of fun and a chance to forget my problems for a while and I should be good as new."

"Well, since you seemed to zone out during the introductions, let's try this again. I'm Marcel. You've already met my girlfriend, Rebekah."

"Excuse me? I'm your what, now?" Rebekah raised her left hand and waggled her fingers at him, making everyone else at the table laugh.

"My bad. My fiancee Rebekah. We just got engaged today and, to be honest, I still haven't quite wrapped my brain around the fact that she actually said yes. I mean… look at her. I'm still trying to figure out what she sees in me."

"And I'm Niklaus. But everyone calls me Klaus. Well… except Rebekah, who calls me Nik. And big brother Elijah, here. _He_ insists on always using my full name as if I'm being scolded for something."

"Well, Niklaus, maybe if you weren't so often in need of a scolding, I wouldn't always sound like I was giving you one."

Rebekah rolled her eyes, and shook her head. "Honestly, you two. Can't you stop bickering for one bloody night? That's all I ask. One night where the two of you actually get along."

"We get along just fine, little sister. But, we have been bickering longer than you have been alive. It's what brothers do. And it isn't as if you don't do your fair share of bickering with Kol."

"Fine! Whatever! Elijah, I believe we agreed it was your turn to buy the drinks?"

"Yes. I believe it is. Hayley, I know the others well enough to order for them, but what will you have?" When she just stared at him, he slapped his forehead. "Right. Twenty-first birthday. Granted, you would hardly be the first person to not have waited until you were legal. Do you have a preference?"

"Not really. I've stolen sips of wine, and been to a couple keggers in high school. But… all any of that taught me is that I hate beer, and while I'm sure there's a wine out there that I might like, I have yet to find it."

Elijah chuckled at that. "Rebekah is rather fond of fruity cocktails. I can get you one of those to start, and we'll go from there. I've got you covered." And then he winked at her before turning and walking away.

**~Love And War~ **

Hayley didn't really hear what Elijah said. Listening to him talk had already been flustering her. Adding a ridiculously seductive laugh to the mix was not helping. Neither was the wink he gave her before he walked away.

She couldn't help watching him walk. The fit of his pants left just enough to the imagination to get her imagination going. Damn! The man had a great ass. She tried to remind herself that she was supposed to be engaged, but that thought started to bring bile up, again, so she shoved it aside, and let herself enjoy the view.

Until Rebekah leaned over. "See something you like, dear?"

Hayley could feel her face getting warm and realized that she was probably turning bright red. "I… I should probably go before I make an even bigger fool of myself. Rebekah, Marcel, congratulations. I'm sure you'll both be very happy. It was nice meeting all of you. Tell Elijah it was nice meeting him, too. I…" She stood up.

But Rebekah grabbed her arm and pulled her back into her seat. "Nonsense. You are not making a fool of yourself. I will say one thing before we change the subject, and that is that Elijah is very much single. So, if you were to make a move, you wouldn't be stepping on any toes."

"Really? Sitting here ogling a man I just met, in front of his siblings, who I also just met, isn't making a fool of myself?" Had she really just said that? Her filter seemed to have been tossed out a window somewhere. And she was about to add alcohol to this?

Klaus just smirked and leaned back in his chair. "I like this one. Can we keep her?"

"I don't know. That seems to be up to Elijah."

Hayley put her face in her hands. "Okay, this conversation is officially downright mortifying. Can we please change the subject?"

"So, what do you do for a living, Hayley? Or are you still in school?"

"Not in school. College… wasn't for me. Right now, I work retail while I try to figure out what the hell I want to do with the rest of my life." Or rather, while she tried to figure out a way to have a say in the rest of her life. She sighed. "I swear, I am like the least interesting person on the planet."

"Nonsense. Where do you work?"

Hayley tried not to let her panic show. The last thing she needed was for one of her new friends to show up at her work looking for her. Nobody would have any idea who Hayley was. "It's just this little hole in the wall boutique. Honestly, nothing I can see you being interested in."

"Do you get the idea that our little wounded bird just doesn't want us to know much about her?"

"It's not really that. I just… I came out here tonight to get away from my real life for a little while. I'd really rather not talk too much about it, if that's okay?" Rebekah was nodding sympathetically, but Klaus looked unconvinced. She shook her head. "Okay, fine. Full disclosure. I've led a pretty sheltered life. My parents died when I was a baby. Their best friends took me in. My whole life has been all about 'what they would want' for me. Which means that I haven't ever really had a say in much of anything. Tonight was the first time I've had a chance to just be… Hayley. You guys don't know me. You don't know my past. You've never known my parents. And, for the first time in my life, I feel like I can just be myself. But, the thing is, the answers to all the usual getting to know you questions… don't mean anything. They have nothing to do with who I really am. They belong to someone else. Someone that… one of these days, I'm going to leave this city, and leave her behind. Because she isn't me. Not really."

"Well, you are officially not allowed to leave the city without telling me where you're going. I like to think that I'm a pretty good judge of character, and I like you. I think that if you give us a chance, we can be good friends." And then she smirked. "And really, Nik should stop being such a pain in the ass. I think that most of us would quite like to have a friend that… we can all just be ourselves with. Leave our family baggage at home, too."

"So, we have a deal, then? I don't ask about your family or any of the other typical superficial questions people ask when they're getting to know someone new, and you don't ask me. And we instead get to all just be ourselves."

"I like that plan. Though, I don't mind most of the normal questions." Elijah set a tray of drinks down in the center of the table and started handing them out. From the looks of it, Hayley and Rebekah had the same thing. "Hayley, I had them make yours a little weaker than Rebekah's. I figured that would give you a chance to get used to it."

As Elijah handed Hayley her drink, their hands brushed, causing an involuntary shiver. What the hell was wrong with her? How in the world was she reacting this much to a total stranger? And, to make it worse, she heard Klaus snickering. Which meant that her reaction had not gone unnoticed. Wonderful.

She risked a look at Elijah. If he was affected by the touch, or had noticed how she was, he wasn't showing any signs of it. Which was a good thing, really. She took a sip of her drink and couldn't help but smile. "Okay, what is this thing?"

"Something called a Bahama Mama. It's one of Rebekah's favorites. I know nothing, I was just the waiter."

"Well, this is like drinking sunshine. Oh my God." Then she laughed. "Which is probably a really cliche and stupid thing to say. But, I don't know how else to put it. This is amazing."

"Well, I'm glad you like it." And then he picked up his glass. "To Rebekah and Marcel. May the future you are about to embark on together bring you nothing but happiness. And may you give me lots of nieces and nephews to spoil."

Rebekah flushed, while everyone else laughed and clinked their glasses together. It was all rather bittersweet for Hayley. Seeing Rebekah and Marcel so happy, so obviously in love, and knowing that she was never going to be allowed to have that for herself.

But, before she could get too melancholy, Elijah was leaning over and whispering in her ear. "I fear I may be a bit presumptuous, but I have always wondered what that tastes like. Though never quite enough to order one for myself."

"Are you asking me for a taste of my drink?" At Elijah's nod, Hayley smiled. "Only if you let me have a sip of yours, too."

Elijah held out his glass. "You probably won't like it. Since you aren't used to drinking, I can't imagine that straight scotch is going to go down well. But, you're welcome to try it."

Hayley took the offered glass and took a sip. And immediately choked. "Holy shit! That _burns _."

Elijah chuckled. "Don't say I didn't warn you. Now, fair is fair. I believe we had a deal?"

Hayley was still coughing at the burning sensation in her throat, but she held her glass out to Elijah. "If you like your drink, you'll probably think this is too tame and fruity. But, I like it."

Elijah took a drink and then smiled. "Okay, 'tame and fruity' definitely seems to sum it up. But, I can see why you girls like it. It's not bad." He handed her glass back to her.

When Hayley leaned over to take another drink, a perverse little voice in her head whispered that Elijah's lips had just been where hers were now. It was a weird thought to have, made even weirder by the effect it had on her. How in the world could something as simple as drinking out of the same straw as him be getting her so flustered?

And then she looked up to see Klaus and Rebekah both staring at her. Klaus had that same smirk he had on his face when he caught her watching Elijah walk. Lovely, perfect. She just could not seem to stop making a fool of herself where Elijah was concerned. And the man himself seemed to be either completely oblivious, or was at least pretending to be so as not to embarrass her, but his siblings were another story altogether. She found herself really wishing the ground would open up and swallow her. Especially since she already knew that Rebekah wasn't going to let her leave and spare herself that embarrassment.

Honestly, it had to be just as weird to them as it was to her. Who wanted to sit there and watch some girl they didn't even know undress their brother with her eyes, anyway? You would think they would want her gone as badly as she wanted to leave.

But, no. Rebekah was quite adamant that Hayley stay and hang out with them. If she was uncomfortable with the way Hayley couldn't help reacting to Elijah, she was hiding it very well.

And then Rebekah was yanking her to her feet and dragging her back to the bathroom.


	3. A Cry For Help

**~Love and War~**

"Didn't they just get out of there?"

"Yes. But my guess is that Rebekah has decided that she needs to talk to Hayley privately, again. Probably about what we were talking about before you came back."

And that wasn't at all ominous. "And just what were you talking about?"

"Well, brother, we could tell you. But, since most of that was about Hayley, we really shouldn't. We wouldn't want to talk about her behind her back, would we?"

Leave it to Niklaus to throw his own ethics at him. Though, it did make him extremely curious about just what Hayley had said or done to get Rebekah in the mood she was in. He wasn't stupid. And he had known Rebekah for twenty-two years. She was in matchmaker mode. That much was obvious. Apparently, she had decided that it was going to be Hayley's job to knock out "that stick he has shoved up his ass." He sighed.

Okay, not that he wasn't interested, because he certainly was. But, his sex life really was none of their business. And dragging poor Hayley into this discussion not ten minutes after meeting her was hardly fair to her. For all any of them knew, she had a boyfriend she'd be going home to, tonight.

"But! While we can't discuss anything she may have said or done, or whether or not she might be interested in you, your opinion of her is fair game. So, are you interested in her?"

Anything she might have said or done? That certainly piqued his interest. Not that he was going to let either of these two idiots know that, of course.

He took a sip of his scotch before answering. "She's certainly quite attractive. And seems sweet. As far as interest goes, it's far too soon to know that. I've only known her for a few minutes."

"Nobody is asking if you want to marry her, Elijah. I was just expressing curiosity about…"

"Klaus, you do know that if you finish that sentence, Elijah will kick both our asses, right?"

Elijah had been about to take another drink, but put his glass down at that. "Niklaus… what exactly did you say to her while I was getting the drinks?"

"What makes you think I said anything to her?"

"You admitted it, actually. Marcel said that Rebekah probably wanted to talk to her about what you were talking about before I came back, and then you said that you couldn't tell me what it was. You didn't deny that you were talking about something I may not be happy with, just said that it wasn't your place to tell me because it was about Hayley. Now, anything she might have said or done is none of my business, curious as I might be. But, anything you might have said to her is, as you you say, fair game."

Marcel laughed. "Leave it to the lawyer to turn your own words against you, Klaus. I think you forgot that words and arguing are literally his job."

"Exactly. Honestly, finding loopholes and exploiting them is _also_ my job. So, spill. What did you say to the poor girl?"

"Why do you automatically assume that I'm the one that said something that might upset you."

"Niklaus…"

"No. Seriously, Elijah. In case you haven't noticed there were two Mikaelsons sitting at this table while you were gone. I'm not the one that told Hayley that you're single, so if she wanted to make a move she wouldn't be stepping on any toes. You want to yell at someone? Go yell at our dear baby sister. Because for once, it wasn't me."

Elijah just sat there, clenching and unclenching his fists. No, he didn't really want to wring Rebekah's neck, as satisfying as that might be. But, he was definitely going to have to have a talk with her about boundaries, later.

Not that he particularly minded her talking about him behind his back like that. He was more upset for Hayley's sake. The poor girl had known them for less than fifteen minutes, and his little sister was trying to get her into bed with him.

Though, there was still that other thing Niklaus had said. Something about things Hayley had said and done. He couldn't ask about that. It wasn't their place to tell him. And he could hardly ask her. What was he supposed to do? Pull her aside and go "so, I hear you were talking about me while I was getting the drinks. What did you say?" And so, that was going to have to be left a rather intriguing mystery.

**~Love and War~**

"Okay, so spill."

"And just what is it that I'm supposed to be spilling?"

Rebekah rolled her eyes. "Are you interested in Elijah?"

Hayley just shrugged. "He's certainly good looking. Okay, who am I kidding? He's gorgeous. And his voice… But, I don't even know him. Heck! I don't even know _you_."

"Maybe I'm being a bit presumptuous, then. But, you could hardly take your eyes off of him. The way you were watching him walk… You were looking at him the way I look at Marcel."

"Rebekah, my life is complicated enough without adding your brother to the mix, trust me."

"Which, does not answer my question."

Hayley shrugged again. "He's cute, and seems nice. Too nice to drag him into the mess I laughingly call a life."

"Trust me, he can take probably anything you can throw at him. Don't write him off because your life is complicated."

"You don't even know me. Why are you trying to throw your brother at me?"

"Because he's been wound way too tight, for way too long. You aren't the only one with family drama and a complicated life. And he needs to loosen up. A lot. But, just like I've noticed you looking at him, I've noticed him looking at you. He definitely seems interested."

"Rebekah…"

"All right, I didn't drag you in here to talk about how tightly wound Elijah is, lately. And, I'm not insinuating you should sleep with him. You may not want to talk about your family, and that's fine. I don't really want to talk about most of mine, either. But, let me tell you something about Elijah. In a lot of ways, he was more of a father to me than my actual father was. Elijah was the one who taught me how to ride a bike. Klaus helped, but Elijah was the one to actually hold the back of my seat and run along side me. Elijah taught me how to catch, how to roller skate, how to jump rope. You name it, Elijah was the one that was there. He was the one who would push me on the swings. He was the one who would bandage my cuts and scrapes when I got hurt. As I got older… Klaus was the one who threatened boys about what would happen to them if they hurt me, but Elijah was the one who held me while I cried when I inevitably did get hurt. But, something else to consider. There's a reason why it was Elijah doing those things and not my father. My family is a mess, too, Hayley. Don't think that you've cornered the market on family drama, because believe me, you haven't."

"The way you talk about him actually makes me want to keep my distance even more."

Rebekah frowned at her. "Why on earth is that?"

"Because he sounds way too good for me. Rebekah… there are things going on with me that you really can't begin to understand."

"Like I said, don't be so sure. And as for my brother… I'm not trying to push him at you. But, if you're interested, then you should go for it. He deserves to have someone willing to take a chance on him. And, from what I've seen, so do you."

"See, that's what I don't get. How can you say that? You don't know me at all. I am nobody to you. Just this weird girl you found crying and puking in a public restroom that you decided to take pity on. And now, not an hour later, you're basically trying to set me up with your brother."

"I pride myself on being a good judge of character. And, like I said, I've seen the way you two already look at each other. Obviously, right now it's just physical attraction. But… most relationships start as physical attraction. Give him a chance, Hayley."

"And what makes you so sure that he would even want me to make a move, anyway?"

Rebekah laughed. "I've known that man for twenty-two years. Trust me… he's interested. But, he also would never want you to do anything you aren't comfortable with. So, if making the first move isn't your thing, then…"

"Yeah, it really isn't. I wouldn't even know where to start."

Rebekah laughed at that. "Seriously? Whether you meant to or not, you were actually doing a decent job of flirting back there. Even if it did make you pretty flustered."

"Yeah… I'm just glad that Elijah didn't seem to notice how he was affecting me. Bad enough that you and Klaus apparently did. It would be absolutely mortifying if Elijah had."

Rebekah just shrugged. "Oh, he may have noticed. But, he'd never let on, because he wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable. Or, he may have been completely oblivious. You never really know, with him. But, for what it's worth, I think you were affecting him, too. He's just better at hiding it." She smiled. "But, enough about you and my brother. Why don't you tell me what's really going on with you?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"I mean, you ran away from your own twenty-first birthday party. You're spending your birthday with a bunch of people you've never met in your life. You started a 'we don't talk about our lives' rule. You are quite adamant about not telling us things like where you work. What gives?"

"Does it really matter?"

"Depends on how you look at it. Am I going to be your friend and encourage you and Elijah regardless? Yes. Would I like to help you if I can? Also yes. So, talk, Hayley."

Hayley sighed. She had been trying to escape from all of this. And yet, Rebekah seemed to genuinely care. Besides, she was coming to like all of them, and would like to be able to stay in touch with them. Which was only going to really be possible if she came clean, now. She took a deep breath. "I've lived a very sheltered life. My parents died when I was a baby. Their best friends took me in. Ever since then, my life has been a never-ending litany of what my parents would want for me. I am twenty-one years old, and I have never been allowed to make a single decision for myself. I didn't skip college because I didn't think it was for me. I skipped it because it wasn't included in the plan my foster parents have for my life. I'm lucky that they've allowed me to get a job."

"And exactly what is the plan they have for your life? If you don't mind my asking?"

"Marry the guy they picked out for me. Crank out his children. Be the dutiful barefoot and pregnant housewife that they think he deserves." Not bad. She managed to be honest without coming out and saying that said guy had already staked his claim, as well.

Except Rebekah was too smart for that. "And how does this guy feel about that? About marrying a woman who wants nothing to do with him?"

Hayley took a deep breath. "He wants me. He isn't exactly any more concerned about my feelings on the subject than my foster parents are. In fact, him asking me to spend the night with him is what had me running away. I just need to get far away from New Orleans. Far away from all of them. My God! I'm afraid to even give you guys my phone number, because I'm on a family plan with them, and worried that they can probably access my phone records. And I know for a fact that if I enter your numbers into my phone, they'll be able to get at those. Fun little 'feature' that the phone company even advertises. They have a database where your contacts are stored so that if you lose your phone, they can get your contacts list back for you. Great for people who are prone to losing or breaking their cell phone. Not so much for domestic abuse victims looking for a way out." And she had just said it. All of it. She admitted to being an abuse victim and expressed a desire to get out. To a perfect stranger.

Rebekah nodded. "Yes, that does complicate things, a bit. But, you do have a job, yes? Are you allowed to keep any of your income? Enough to perhaps buy yourself a burner phone and keep minutes on it? Because if not, then I will buy one for you, myself."

"Yeah. I work part time for minimum wage. What I make isn't much, but I can get myself a second phone with it." And then it really sank in what Rebekah was suggesting. She felt tears well up in her eyes. "Thank you. I… I don't know why I'm pouring my heart out to a stranger like this. I just… I don't really have many people in my life that I can trust. Really, it's just my friend Cami. Everyone else seems to agree with my foster parents."

"Well, I'm happy to help. So, here's what we're going to do. We're going to write our phone numbers down for you. Then you are going to go buy yourself a burner phone and contact us with your new phone number. My brother Kol wasn't here, today. His girlfriend is only twenty, and so he doesn't like going to bars, because she can't go with him. But, he's a technological genius. We'll have him check your phone from your family, make sure there's nothing malicious on it. Nothing that can be used to track you. No way around the phone company's so-called features. But we can at least make it as safe as possible. And we will figure out a way to get you out of there."

"You don't have to do that. Any of that. You hardly know me. Why would you go through so much trouble for me?"

"Because I like you. And because you're in trouble. What kind of person would I be if I had someone flat-out call herself a domestic abuse victim looking for a way out and I didn't try to help her? We'll figure something out, Hayley. I promise you. My family is a big ball of complicated, sometimes. But, the one thing we're good at is problem-solving. Between Kol's wizardry with electronics and Elijah's knowledge of the law, meeting us just may have been the best thing to ever happen to you. Because if anyone can help you, it's those two." She patted Hayley's arm. "Now then. Let's get back out there. We don't have to tell them any of this, right now. But, we will once we bring Kol in on this. Question is, do you want to explain it all to them, or would you rather I do it?"

"Honestly? I think I'll just let you do it. Talking about it is weird for me."

Rebekah laughed. "Weirder than knowing darn well that we're going to be talking about you behind your back?"

Hayley shrugged. "As if you aren't going to be talking about me, anyway. At least now I have an idea of what's being said."

Rebekah just shook her head and opened the door. "Let's go. And Hayley… I promise you, we will figure something out."

Hayley could only nod and follow her new friend out into the bar. Her life had just gotten immeasurably more complicated. But, maybe for once that was in a good way.


	4. Catch A Spark And Start A Flame

_Emboldened by comments from Rebekah, Elijah's flirting gets more blatant. Not that Hayley minds_

**~Love And War~**

Elijah stood up when the girls came back to the table and once again held Hayley's chair for her. He caught Niklaus smirking at him and rolled his eyes. He sat down and leaned over to talk quietly to Hayley. "I do hope that my baby sister isn't being too annoying."

Hayley laughed. "No, not at all. She's really nice. I like her."

"Good. So, why did she drag you off to the bathroom, anyway?"

"Oh, to gossip. There's… something she'll be talking to you about, later. And that's all I'm going to say, right now. Just know that when she talks to you later, she does have my permission."

"That's rather intriguing. Are you going to give me a hint?" He wasn't sure why he was so curious. Actually, he did know why. And it had nothing to do with him being a lawyer and everything to do with what Niklaus and Marcel had said while the girls were gone. The fact that she had apparently said something about him. He had a feeling that that something was the reason that Rebekah had dragged her off to the bathroom to gossip. He couldn't ask her point blank, because that would be awkward and put her on the spot. But, that didn't mean he couldn't try a more oblique approach.

"Not right now. Please, Elijah? Rebekah will tell you everything later. Okay?"

"You two going to share with the rest of the class?"

"Shut it, Nik! They're being adorable. Let them."

"You'll have to forgive my sister. She's… a bit of a hopeless romantic and has apparently decided that I should be the next one paired up."

"Only partly true. Had it been Nik and Hayley who had shown an interest in each other, I'd be trying to play matchmaker for them. So, really, it was Hayley who decided you should be next."

Elijah looked over at Hayley who appeared to be intent on her drink, but was turning a rather bright shade of red. "Enough, Rebekah. Quit teasing the poor girl."

Hayley finished her drink and stood up. "Okay, the next round is on me. What do you guys all want?"

"You are not buying today. Not on your birthday."

"Twenty-first birthday. Buying drinks today is a rite of passage."

Elijah stood up and took out his wallet. "Might a suggest a compromise?" He took a fifty dollar bill out of his wallet and handed it to Hayley. "I'll have a scotch, neat. If you don't want to experiment more, then what you had was a bahama mama."

"Make that three scotches, all neat."

"I'll have another bahama mama."

Hayley smiled. "So, two bahama mams, and three scotches, neat. I think I can remember that."

"And then have the bartender keep the change."

Hayley nodded and walked off. And Elijah couldn't help watching her. And a little voice in his head wondered if that swing to her hips was just how she walked, or if it was for his benefit. _Right. Conceited much, Elijah? Even if that is intentional, no reason to assume it's about you. _Which didn't stop him from enjoying the view.

"See something you like, Elijah?"

Marcel laughed. "Well, this conversation is certainly sounding familiar."

"What do you mean by that?"

"She asked Hayley the exact same question when you went to get our first round of drinks."

Which meant that Hayley had been watching him walk. But, he decided to play dumb and ask about it. "Why would she have asked that?"

"Because Hayley couldn't keep her eyes off of you. Specifically, off of your butt. Kind of like how you are watching the way her hips move."

Elijah ran a hand over his face. "Are you going to tease us all night? I thought that we were here to celebrate your engagement?"

"We are. Which makes me the guest of honor at this little party. So, quit trying to ruin my fun."

"I'm just saying that I thought that we were supposed to be teasing you, not the other way around."

Rebekah scoffed. "Like you and Nik really want to talk about my sex life. For all you had no problem making a crack about us having lots of children."

"That wasn't a crack. I know that you want a house full of kids. So, while I don't really want to think about how you're going to _get_ that house full of kids, my toast was just about wishing you get exactly what you want. Which is not at all the same thing as what you guys are doing."

"And just what are we doing?"

"Making comments about us, and dragging her off to interrogate her and whatever else you may have been doing."

"For the record, Hayley was the one who commented on her ogling you, not us. So, it's hardly fair to yell at me for wanting to follow up on that."

Elijah could only stare at her as he tried to get his brain to work. Hayley had been ogling him? And had _admitted_ that? Well… That was certainly interesting. Not that he could say anything to her about it. But, this night just got a whole lot more interesting. Not that it had been dull even before Hayley showed up.

**~Love and War~**

Hayley walked up to the bar and placed her order. And not only wasn't surprised when she got carded, but was relieved. It would be a little hard to test her I.D. if she never had to show it. Granted, a bartender wasn't a TSA agent. Maybe when she left town, she should take a train.

The bartender looked her I.D. over. Then handed it back to her. It was several minutes before he handed her a tray full of drinks. "You need any help carrying that, Miss?"

"I've got it, thanks." She picked up the tray and carried it over to the table where her friends were waiting. "Do I look weak to you guys?"

Elijah raised an eyebrow at that. "Not particularly, why?"

"Because apparently the bartender didn't think that I was capable of carrying a tray with five drinks on it. So, either he thinks I'm weak, or he thinks I'm a klutz. I'm not sure which."

"Or he thinks that helping you carry the drinks would give him a few more minutes with you. Time to ask your name, find out if you have a boyfriend, tell you when his shift ends…"

"I… what? You think his implying that I couldn't carry a tray of drinks was an attempt to hit on me?"

Elijah shrugged. "My brother may have a slightly crude way of putting it, but I would hardly blame the man if that was his intention."

"And are you hitting on me now, Elijah?"

"Not at all. But, you are a very beautiful woman and I'm not going to pretend I haven't noticed."

Hayley felt her cheeks getting warm and knew that she had to be blushing. "Umm… thanks. I…"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." He picked up his drink, and held it up in front of him. When the others all followed suit, he gave another toast. "To Hayley, who had a very crappy start to her birthday. I hope that it is improving and that her next one will be happier."

"To Hayley. Happy birthday."

"Thank you. All of you. My day is certainly improving. It's kind of a shame that I have to go home, tonight. But, I hope I'll be seeing all of you, again."

"Speaking of which! We need to give her our phone numbers."

"Of course!" Elijah held his hand out. "If you hand me your phone, I can just enter my number for you. I mean, if you actually want it, and this isn't just Rebekah being Rebekah, again."

"Umm… I do want your number, but my phone has been acting really stupid, lately. I'm going to be getting a new one, tonight or tomorrow. Including changing my number. Don't ask. And, it won't let me enter numbers into my contacts list. I don't know what's going on with it. So, if you guys can just write them down. That would be great. And then I'll send out a group text tomorrow to give you my new number." Her eyes begged him not to ask questions. She wasn't ready to explain things to him. Explaining it to Rebekah was different.

His eyes searched her face, but finally he nodded. "I'm not sure I completely buy your explanation. I'm willing to bet this has something to do with what Rebekah has permission to talk to us about, later. But, I'll play along for right now. I'll be right back." He got up and walked to the front doors, and then out.

"Where is he going?"

"Out to his car, for pen and paper. Because of course he has pen and paper in his car. I'm willing to bet he has the file for his client meeting in his briefcase, too." Rebekah sighed. "I really do hope that you are able to get him to loosen up a bit. And soon. That man is going to explode one of these days if he doesn't learn to relax."

"I'm really not sure that getting Elijah to relax and loosen up is really my job, Rebekah."

"Oh, but I think it will be. You should have seen him watching you when you went to get that last round. He was as bad as you were. I think I might start a betting pool."

"You are _not _going to start betting on your brother's sex life, Rebekah. And if you are, you at least should wait to take mine and Klaus's bets until _after _the girl in question leaves." Marcel winked at them, and Hayley once again felt her cheeks getting warm.

"Stop it, guys! I'm not going to just jump into bed with him! I'm not like that."

"Yeah, well. I don't think he is, either. I'd say that it's a shame, but since you aren't, it's for the best. Don't want you feeling pressured."

"Who is pressuring Hayley? And into what?"

This time it was Rebekah who blushed. "Oh nothing. She can tell you later, if she wants. But, it's nothing you need to worry about."

"Right. I'm not sure I believe you, but I'm going to just let it go. Mainly because I think that maybe poor Hayley doesn't need a rehash of whatever you were just talking about." He sat down, wrote something on a pad of paper and then handed the pen and paper to Klaus.

The pad of paper and the pen made their way around the table, until Rebekah handed them to Hayley. She ripped the top sheet off and stuck it in her pants pocket, then handed the pen and pad back to Elijah who put them in the pocket of the suit jacket that was draped over the back of his chair.

The next round of drinks was apparently on Klaus. He handed them out and laughed. "Well, either I looked capable of carrying the tray, or the bartender didn't care if I'm seeing anyone."

"Stop! You're such a brat!"

"Get used to it. If you're going to hang out with us, you should know that this is just how he is. In fact, he's often worse."

"I think I can handle it."

"Good."

The rest of the evening passed with laughter, chatter, and more drinks than Hayley could keep track of. Elijah and Klaus were taking turns buying them, having apparently decided that the rest of them weren't allowed to spend their money, tonight.

Eventually, Rebekah stood up. "Okay. Marcel and I are going to go take this celebration somewhere a bit more private."

"Too much information! Jinx!" Elijah and Klaus both yelled at the same time. And then they were both silent.

"Right then. I will talk to you boys, tomorrow. Hayley call or text as soon as you get your new phone." She grabbed Marcel's hand and dragged him out of the bar.

Elijah and Klaus still hadn't said anything. Not even to say goodbye to their sister. And then Hayley realized why. "Well, Elijah. It seems that you have a bit more of a playful streak than your sister gives you credit for."

"I can't believe she actually left without saying our names. The little brat."

Klaus was looking daggers at both of them, and Hayley laughed a bit before finally taking pity on him. "Well, Klaus. I suppose I should let you talk, too. Might be a bit hard to order us more drinks if you're mute."

"You two can get your own drinks. I am going home."

"No! Come on, it was just a joke. You aren't actually mad, are you?"

"Not at all, love. But, we all know who the third wheel in this little trio is. So, I'm going to call a cab and head home. Leave the two of you to get to know each other better. It was very nice meeting you, Hayley. I would tell you not to be a stranger, but I highly doubt that either of my siblings will allow that. So, I'll see you around." And then he was gone.

"I do hope that my siblings weren't too obnoxious."

"No, not at all. I like them. I like all of you. This has turned out to be a wonderful birthday. I'm kind of glad that my family was horrible, today."

"Well, I just know that they can sometimes get… out of hand. I love Rebekah with all my heart, but… She sometimes doesn't know when to quit. And I apologize for the way she was throwing us together."

"Are you actually sorry, though?"

"I just apologized. I don't know what more you want."

"That's not what I mean." She took a deep breath. "If you weren't worried that it was making me uncomfortable, would you be sorry she did it?"

He smiled at her, then stood up. "I will be right back." And then he was gone. But he wasn't walking to the doors, the bar, or the restroom. What in the world was going on?

A couple minutes later he was back, holding out his hand to her. "Might I have the honor of the next dance?"

"This isn't exactly that kind of song."

"That will change in a minute. We can walk over to the dance floor and be ready when the next song starts."

The look he gave her was something she hardly expected. He looked almost vulnerable. Like the thought of her saying no was actually worrying him. She smiled and took his hand, letting him pull her out of her chair. "The honor is mine." And then she giggled at their formality.

They walked onto the dance floor, and Hayley noticed Elijah nodding to someone. And suddenly the song playing ended.

"All right. We have a special request. This one goes out to Hayley from Elijah."

Hayley was half expecting Happy Birthday or something similar, and was getting ready to yell at Elijah. Instead, what started playing was the musical intro to a song she had always liked. And that she now had even more reason to like. They started moving together to the music.

As the lyrics started, Elijah pulled her close. "I'm not going to lie. This song pretty much sums up my evening. I hope I'm not embarrassing you or being too forward."

"Not at all. I love it."

"Good. I'm glad." And then the chorus started, and he started to sing along. And Hayley couldn't help giggling. Which turned out to be perfect timing for the last line of the chorus. "The way you're smiling, I can't help myself. Girl, you got me tryna catch my breath."

"You really are quite the charmer, when you want to be, aren't you?"

"I try. I can't help it. I'm enjoying myself. More than I have in quite some time. I guess those idiots were right."

"What do you mean?"

"That I really am wound too tight, and need to loosen up and relax. Which… is not exactly how they put it, but… We are nowhere near ready to talk about their exact words."

"Now I'm the one who's intrigued."

"Another time, Hayley. Unless you manage to coerce my sister into telling you. Though she might not. It would get her into trouble, too."

"Oh, that's it. Now I really need to know what they said."

"I'm starting to learn that you can be quite tenacious when you want to be."

"I'm as stubborn as they come." She felt her smile falter, then. "And my family is about to learn that."

"Hayley…"

She put her fingers to his lips. "Not tonight, Elijah. For tonight, let me just enjoy my birthday. We'll talk about it later. I promise. I'm not going to pull a Cinderella and run away."

"If you were Cinderella, would that make me Prince Charming?"

She shook her head. "You are incorrigible. But, Prince Charming, I don't have a glass slipper to leave behind for you. So, you're just going to have to take my word for it that I'll be back."

"Fair enough." He spun her out and back in, which made her laugh again. "There! There's that smile that has had me captivated all evening. Here's hoping that we'll be able to erase those shadows under your eyes, too. Though, I suppose that will take more than can be accomplished in one night."

"Yeah… That's going to take a while." She looked down for a minute, before looking back up into his eyes. "Okay, I know that I'm the one that started the 'we don't ask about our lives' rule, but I can't help being curious. What's with the suit?"

Elijah laughed. "I came straight from work. I'm a lawyer. To keep you from having to break your own rule and ask me."

"Well, that explains Rebekah's comment on your 'knowledge of the law'. I kind of thought it might be something like that." He frowned at that. And looked about to say something. And Hayley had a feeling that that something would be to ask the question she wasn't ready to answer. So, she immediately brought the conversation back to the original topic. "I feel like such a hypocrite even wanting to know. I mean, like you said, it's my rule. It's hardly fair of me to ask you a question that I wouldn't answer, myself."

"Look, I'd rather not talk about most of my family besides Niklaus, Rebekah, and my brother Kol. But, I have no problem talking about my job. I understand if you don't feel the same way about yours. I get it. Being a lawyer is part of who I am. You would rather identify yourself by something more substantial than what you do for a living. And you don't want any of your new friends showing up at your work bugging you. I'm not stupid, Hayley. I know that this goes deeper than that. I would have realized that even if there wasn't all that cryptic talk about Rebekah needing to talk to me about something, later. But, I'm willing to play along and wait until either you are ready to talk to me about it, or Rebekah tells me whatever it is that you've given her permission to tell me. I'm not going to push it right now. Okay?"

She smiled. "Thank you." Time to deflect the conversation back to him. "So, if you don't mind talking about your work, what kind of law do you practice?"

"Corporate, actually."

"So, you negotiate contracts and stuff?"

He nodded. "Yes." And then he chuckled. "Which is usually about the point in the conversation where girls lose interest. Apparently corporate law doesn't seem as glamorous as criminal law does for some reason."

Hayley raised an eyebrow at that, and couldn't help giving him a bit of a once over. "Talk to a lot of blind girls, do you?" Oh shit. Had she really said that? She had definitely had too much to drink, tonight.

Elijah just laughed. "No, not really." And then he sighed. "I guess that what I talk to are a whole lot of women who hear 'lawyer' and see dollar signs. And don't realize that there's actually usually more money in corporate law than in criminal law. Which, I guess I should be grateful for their ignorance. The gold diggers weed themselves out of the dating pool without any work on my part."

Hayley was starting to understand what Rebekah was trying to tell her. Elijah was used to women seeing him as a handsome face attached to a bank account, with little interest in him as a person. "Well, from where I'm standing, it's their loss."

"Oh? And just where are you standing, Hayley?"

"Are you fishing for complements, Elijah?"

He shrugged. "No, actually I'm not. In all honesty, I'm just trying to understand you."

Hayley bit her lip. "When I came here, tonight, I never expected to meet people like you, your siblings, and Marcel. I figured I'd drown my sorrows, get drunk off my ass for the first time ever, and then call a cab or my best friend to take me home to sleep it off. Instead, I made four new friends. People who somehow already care more about me than literally everyone I have ever known in my life except Cami. It's a bit overwhelming, actually. And it's really taking some getting used to."

"Well, I do hope that you'll take the time to get used to it. I'd like to get to know you better."

"I'd like that, too." And she found herself staring at him. The intensity in his eyes was too much to handle, so she lowered her gaze. Which turned out to be a mistake, because that just had her staring at his mouth. She swallowed hard. And then started to lean in to him.

He stepped back, and put his hands on her shoulders, holding her away from him. "Hayley…"

"I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I…"

Elijah sighed. "I think I do. Which is why I stopped you. Come here." He took her hand and led her off the dance floor and back to their table. "You've been drinking, Hayley. A lot. And I am not the kind of guy who would kiss a woman unless I know for sure that she wants me to. And you are in no position to make that decision. Talk to me when you're sober."

"Such a gentleman." As frustrating as it was, she couldn't help but be touched by it. After having Jackson force himself on her earlier, Elijah's concern for her was one more thing to actually make her _want_ to kiss him. But, she understood why he wouldn't right now.

"I try. Though, sometimes it's harder than others. Can I ask you a personal question?"

"I thought that we agreed that we wouldn't do that, tonight?"

"I'm not asking as your new friend. I'm asking as the guy who definitely would have kissed you a few seconds ago if you hadn't been drinking."

"Oh. In that case, as long as I can reserve the right not to answer, go ahead."

"Are you seeing anyone?"

Hayley thought of the ring in her purse for just one second. But, that ring didn't belong to Hayley. It belonged to Andrea. Who still didn't actually want it. "No. I'm not. So, you don't have to worry about that."

"Good. But! As much as I am enjoying myself, we should probably call it a night. You need to get some sleep. I recommend taking an aspirin or some Tylenol tonight. With a full glass of water."

"Try to head the hangover I'm heading towards off at the pass?"

"It's certainly worth a try. Is there someone you can call, or do you need me to call you a cab? I know you mentioned your best friend, but I have to make sure you really do have a way home." It was weirdly endearing that he didn't try to push it and offer to drive her home, or to share a cab with her. That he was willing to give her her space and not try to find out where she lived. Though, maybe it was the alcohol thinking. Or the fact that most of her interactions with men had been with Jackson, who never cared what she wanted or how she felt. Elijah was a very welcome change.

"No, that was legit. I can call my friend Cami. What about you? You may be better at holding your liquor than me, but you still matched me drink for drink, and yours were stronger."

He laughed. "Remember that song? I really did take a cab here. Though, I may call my brother Kol to pick me up. Even if he's been drinking, the reason he's not here is because his girlfriend is only twenty. If Kol can't drive, Davina can."

"Okay." She pulled her phone out and texted Cami. A few minutes later, she got a text back that Cami was on her way. "My ride should be here in a few minutes. I'm going to go wait outside."

"Can I wait with you? Or would you prefer to keep me and my family separate from your other friends?"

"Cami is okay. And I asked her to come alone." She gave him a sheepish look. "My family is… complicated."

"Understood."

She took his hand and walked outside to wait for Cami. All too soon, her friend was pulling up in front of them. "Well, my ride is here. I guess I'll talk to you later." She let go of his hand and started to walk away.

But, he grabbed her arm. "Wait. Just a minute. Promise that you'll call or text as soon as you get your phone figured out?"

"I promise, Elijah. But, now I really need to get going."

The way he was looking at her had her wondering if he was about to kiss her. She knew that he said he wouldn't while she was drunk. But he certainly looked like he wanted to. He pushed her hair off of her face, and cupped her cheeks. But, just as she expected her to tilt her face up for a kiss, he instead tilted her face down so he could kiss her forehead. "Happy birthday, Hayley. I'll talk to you later."

She expected him to walk away, then. But, he didn't. He walked her to Cami's car, and opened the door for her. As she got in and got herself buckled, he leaned in to talk to Cami. "She has had a lot to drink. My family was out celebrating my sister's engagement, and Hayley was matching all of us drink for drink. So, take care of her, okay?"

"Will do. And thank you for taking care of her, tonight. I hope we'll both be seeing more of you in the future. But, for now, I should probably get her home before she passes out, or pukes all over my car. See you later."

As Cami pulled away, Hayley caught a glimpse of Elijah pulling his phone out of his pocket. It was kind of endearing that he didn't even call to arrange his own way home until after he knew that she would be okay.

"Okay. I have three questions. One, who's the hottie? Two, does he have a brother? And three… Who is Hayley?"

Hayley just groaned. Well, it seemed that her night wasn't quite over, after all.

**~Love And War~**

Notes: The song Hayley and Elijah dance to is Catch by Brett Young. From the first time I heard it, I knew they had to dance to it before this night ended, because it really did sum up Elijah's evening so perfectly. It's like it was written for this fic.


	5. We Have A Problem

_Elijah's evening ends with talking Davina's ear off on the way home from Rousseau's. But, the next day, Rebekah presents the rest of the Mikaelsons with a problem in the form of at least part of what's going on with Hayley. _

**~Love And War~**

Davina pulled up next to Elijah. "Hey there. Kol is home being lazy, so you're stuck with me, tonight. What I want to know is what you guys are going to do next year when you lose your designated driver."

Elijah chuckled as he opened the passenger door and slid into the car and buckled himself in. "Well, the others all took cabs. Which I could have done. But, somehow, calling and bugging Kol sounded more fun. Thanks for picking me up."

"No problem. Can't have you driving in the condition you're in. So, I take it you guys all had a good time?"

"We did. Have you seen Rebekah's ring, yet?"

"I did. She texted me a picture of it. It's gorgeous. Marcel has good taste."

"Of course he does. He's marrying my sister, after all."

She laughed at that. "So, did I miss anything interesting? It is so not fair that they had their engagement party at a bar that I couldn't go to."

Elijah was oddly quiet. When Davina stopped at a red light, she glanced over to see if he was even awake. Which, he was, though it seemed that his mind was a million miles away. And he had an oddly dreamy look on his face. She was way too curious to just let that go.

"Earth to Elijah! Okay, spill. What has you looking like that?"

"I met a girl, tonight."

"Oh really? Does this girl have a name?"

He smiled. "Her name is Hayley. Rebekah found her puking in the bathroom after she apparently ran away from her own birthday party to keep from killing some fool."

Davina laughed at that. "And dragged her back to your table so that she wouldn't have to spend her birthday alone. Sounds like Rebekah. So…"

"She's so beautiful. And funny. And really sweet. And I like her."

"You kiss her?"

"No. She had a lot to drink. I… she almost kissed me, but I stopped her. She was drunk, after all."

"Elijah Mikaelson. You are too noble for your own good, sometimes."

"Maybe. But, when I kiss her, I'm going to want her to remember it the next morning."

"All right. That's fair. Do you think she likes you? Wait! She would have kissed you if you weren't too noble for your own good. So, I'm taking that as a yes."

"I hope so. Because I really like her. I know that that sounds silly. I just met her, today. But… I just want to make her smile. And erase those shadows under her eyes."

It was all Davina could do to keep her eyes on the road. It was so weird hearing Elijah like this. And sure, a lot of it was the alcohol. But, she had a feeling that all that was doing was making him more talkative. She was willing to bet that his attraction to this girl was something else, entirely. And so, as she listened to him talk, and asked questions where it seemed appropriate, she just smiled to herself. And hoped that Hayley really did like him as much as he already seemed to like her. Because he deserved to be happy.

She pulled into his driveway. "You gonna be okay? Need me to come in and help you with anything?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm capable of getting into my bed on my own. I think I can even manage to get myself undressed. And I wouldn't ask you for help with that, even if I couldn't."

"No. We'll leave that to Hayley." She couldn't help but tease him.

And was surprised when his reaction was to get a faraway look in his eyes, smile, and say "maybe someday."

"Okay, you need to go sleep this off, dude. I'll talk to you later." She watched as he walked to his front door, managed to get it unlocked, and went inside. For all she knew, he was going to sleep in his clothes in his foyer. But, that wasn't her problem. She had gotten him home safely. He was on his own, now. She pulled back out of the driveway and headed home.

**~Love And War~**

"So, apparently your brother met a girl tonight."

"Elijah did?"

"Yep. Her name is Hayley. And Elijah talked about her non-stop the entire ride home. He seems to really like her. Of course, he was also very drunk. So, it'll be interesting to see what he has to say about her in the morning."

Kol laughed at that. "Well, good for him! And thank you for going to get him. I could have, but that would have meant getting dressed again. And I really didn't want to."

"You do know that you could have gone to the party, right? I'm perfectly capable of spending an evening alone. And I could have gone and picked both of you up."

"And I could have spent my entire evening sitting with Nik watching Rebekah and Marcel be… Rebekah and Marcel, and Elijah flirt with this new girl, and really wishing that you were there with me. No thanks. I much prefer the way you and I spent our evening." He put his arms around her and pulled her close. "Now then. Where were we before we were so rudely interrupted by my drunk-ass older brother needing someone to keep him from wrapping his car around a tree?"

Davina smiled at him, and pulled away just long enough to pull her shirt off before stepping back into his arms. "I think we were right about here."

"Yes. This seems about right." He smirked at her, and then picked her up and carried her to their bed.

**~Love And War~**

Elijah woke up to a pounding headache. He groaned and pulled his pillow onto his face, trying to block out the light streaming in through his windows. He couldn't remember the last time he drank that much. And then, he couldn't help thinking of Hayley, and hoping that she had fared better in the whole warding off a hangover thing.

He sat up, then closed his eyes as the room started spinning. He desperately needed a shower, and food. In some order. Except that either of those things required getting out of bed, and he wasn't actually sure he was capable of doing that. He should have taken his own advice.

He slowly stood up, keeping a hand on his nightstand to steady himself. Okay, that settled it. Shower first. Simply because the shower and the medicine cabinet were in the same room. He stumbled his way to the bathroom, and dug around in the medicine cabinet until he found his bottle of Tylenol. He popped four of them into his mouth and washed them down with handfuls of water from the sink. And then he got into the shower.

Okay, there was no way he was going to manage more than to just get himself rinsed off. At least right now. He stood in the shower and leaned against the wall, while the water beat down on him. At some point it occurred to him that Hayley hadn't been the only one matching him drink for drink. He wondered if Niklaus, Rebekah, and Marcel were in as much agony as he was.

Eventually, the throbbing in his head subsided enough that he stopped being dizzy. He quickly washed himself, and then get out and went back to his room. He threw on a pair of pajama pants, a step he had skipped the night before, and went out to the kitchen to make breakfast. Not that he was actually in the mood to cook, either. But, he could at least make himself a pot of coffee, and a bagel. It wasn't much of a breakfast, but it was a start.

By the time text came from Rebekah, he was feeling almost human. Almost.

RM: I need everyone to meet me at the safe house. It's about Hayley.

He went into his bedroom and got dressed. It was when he picked up his phone to check the messages he had missed that he got his first hint that something was very wrong. That message hadn't just gone to him, Niklaus, and Marcel.

KM: Who the heck is Hayley?

DC: Honestly, Kol. Do you even listen when I talk to you? The girl your brother talked my ear off about the whole ride home, last night?

KM: Oh! Her! Sorry, love. I forgot her name.

He grabbed his keys and went out to the garage. And stared at the empty space where his car should have been. And then he facepalmed. His car was at Rousseau's. Hayley had distracted him so much that he totally forgot that he had not, actually, taken a cab there. So, he didn't think to ask for Kol and Davina to come together so that Kol could drive his car home. He pulled his phone out and sent a text to the group chat Rebekah had started.

EM: My car is at Rousseau's, so I'm going to need somebody to pick me up and take me to get it.

RM: Marcel and I will pick you up. Though, it might make more sense to wait to go to Rousseau's after Hayley contacts us. We may be meeting her, and that's probably the most logical place.

DC: No fair! I'm the one that got my ear talked off last night. I want to meet this mystery woman of Elijah's.

RM: We'll talk about that at the safe house. And we'll talk more once Hayley gets a hold of us. Actually, Rousseau's may not be the best idea. I'm not sure I like the idea of her setting a pattern, right now.

Well, that was certainly worrying. But, as much as he needed to know what was going on, he knew it was going to have to wait. He decided to take advantage of having to wait for a ride by shaving, and running a comb through his hair to try to look at least a little presentable, and then he waited for his little sister to get there.

A few minutes later, he was sliding into the backseat of Marcel's car. "You going to tell me what's going on?"

Rebekah took a deep breath before turning in her seat to look at him. "Hayley's in some trouble."

He was expecting that. Had been kind of expecting it from the moment that Hayley had told him that Rebekah had her permission to tell the rest of them what they had talked about in the bathroom. "What kind of trouble?"

"The kind of trouble that… let's just say that there's a reason why I included Davina in that group text."

Elijah swore. Yes, part of him had been expecting that, too. The minute he realized that Kol and Davina had been included in the group text, he had had a feeling that there was a reason for that. And that he probably wasn't going to like that reason. "Are you planning on telling me what it is?"

"Not until we get to the safe house. I know that this concerns you in a way that goes beyond the rest of us, but still. Let me do this my way, okay? I promise you that you will know everything I know, soon enough."

He could only nod as he closed his eyes. And the rest of the ride was spent silently praying that whatever was going on with Hayley, it was something that his family, dysfunctional as it was, could actually help her with.

**~Love And War~**

"All right, Rebekah. You certainly have us intrigued. What's going on?"

"Hold on, Nik. Let me get Kol and Davina up to speed, here." She turned to the two people who hadn't been with them the night before. "So, last night, I met a girl in the bathroom. She was puking her guts out from stress after having run away from her own birthday party to keep from killing some guy who was annoying the fuck out of her. Except, it turns out that it goes much deeper than that. When talking to her, later, she told me some things about her family that, quite frankly, are a bit scary. Long story short, her family is extremely controlling and emotionally abusive. And she wants out. I figure that we can collectively be her way out."

Davina was the first to speak. "I can have her a bed at the shelter tomorrow if she wants it. I mean, I know better than any of you that it probably won't be that simple, but it's there. When she's ready for it."

Rebekah smiled at her. "Which is why I wanted you to be here for this. I don't know if that is something she'd be willing to actually do, just yet. But, I needed the option available for her. And of all of us, you're going to be the best one to talk to her and work that part of this out. But, before we get to that, we need Kol's help."

Elijah swore, again. "Her phone. It's not broken, she's worried it could be bugged."

"Got it in one, big brother. Plus, she's on a family plan with her foster parents. Thanks to certain features her carrier offers, they could have access to her contacts list even without doing anything malicious to the phone."

Kol spoke up, then. "Which is where I come in, I take it? It's going to be my job to make sure her phone from her family isn't tracking her, somehow?"

"Exactly. I admit to not knowing how any of this works. We're going to leave that to you."

"And, unfortunately, we can't do anything about any of this, until she contacts us. And, I have to agree with you. Having her meet us at Rousseau's could be a bad idea. If her phone is being tracked, we don't want it being obvious that she has a favorite spot she tends to go to often. And, for the same reason, we can't have her come here. Not until we make sure we won't be leading her family here."

"That's true. We've gone to too much trouble to keep our own family from being able to find us here to go and have Hayley's family show up looking for her."

"Besides, I want her to be able to use this as her safe house, too. Which she won't be able to do if her family knows about it."

Elijah just sighed. And ran his hand over his face. "We need to figure out something, guys. I really like this girl. But, even if I didn't… If Rebekah is making a point of bringing Davina into this, we all know that that's not actually a good thing."

"No, it's not usually a good sign when one of you decides that the resident future social worker who is volunteering at a shelter for battered women needs to be involved in the latest mess you've gotten yourselves into." She turned to Rebekah. "You've mentioned emotional abuse, and the things you're having Kol look into suggest some serious control issues. But, is there anything else we should know about?"

Rebekah looked at Elijah for a second, then shook her head. "No, that's pretty much it. They're extremely controlling, and emotionally abusive, but… I don't think any of them have hit her. But, you know better than any of us that that doesn't really mean anything."

"Oh. No. I'd be the last one to try to downplay emotional abuse. And the fact is, that the most dangerous time for an abused woman is actually the first several months after she leaves. It might not be physical now. That doesn't mean it couldn't get physical if they find out she's looking for a way out."

"Which means that leaving her there for now may actually be our best course of action?" He didn't like that idea. In fact, he hated it. The idea of just leaving Hayley in that situation made him want to throw things. And he couldn't shake the feeling that there was more. Either something Rebekah wasn't telling him, or something Hayley hadn't told Rebekah. And he had a feeling that that something made the whole situation even more dangerous for her.

But, he had to concede that Davina was the expert, here. When it came to keeping Hayley safe while they figured out something more permanent to do about her situation, Davina was the one who was best equipped to deciding the best way to do that.

"Unfortunately, yes. Obviously, if she wants to just run today, I'll get her a bed at the shelter, and we'll figure this out. But, in all honesty, having her stay where she's at might be safest for her. At least for now. Until we get a better idea of what they could be capable of, and important their control over her is to them. How far they're likely to go to maintain that control. I know you don't like it, Elijah, but… She's obviously not a complete prisoner, or you never would have met her. I think we can afford to be a bit cautious, at least for now."

Rebekah was looking pensive, though. And Elijah was pretty sure he didn't like that at all. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the other room. "What aren't you telling us?"

"Ask Hayley when she contacts us. I've said what I'm allowed to. The rest is up to her. I'm sorry, Elijah. But, there are some things that it's just not my place to talk about."

Unfortunately, he couldn't actually argue with that logic. Especially under the circumstances. Hayley needed to feel safe, to know that she could trust them. And if any of them started telling the others things she hadn't given them permission to talk about, they would lose her trust. It was a chance he couldn't take. So, as much as he hated it, he was going to have to be patient. Whatever the rest was, Hayley would tell him when she was ready.

And then his, Rebekah's, Niklaus's, and Marcel's phones all buzzed at once. Hayley. He breathed a sigh of relief. He still didn't know how much they were going to be able to help her. But his relief at her texting them wasn't only over concern for her well-being. Not that he would admit that to any of the others.


	6. What's In A Name?

_Picks up right after chapter 4 ends. Hayley deals with interrogations, hangovers, and figuring out where to meet with her new friends - and discovers that she may have more allies than she thought. She just has to get them used to calling her Hayley, instead of Andrea._

**~Love And War~**

"One, his name is Elijah. Two, apparently he has two brothers. Three, that would be me."

Cami laughed. "One, does Elijah have a last name? Two, are either of his brothers single? Three, why does he think your name is Hayley?"

Hayley rolled her eyes. "One, I'm sure he does, but I don't know what it is. Two, they mentioned Kol's girlfriend, but I'm guessing Klaus is single since their sister said she would be trying to play matchmaker between us if it had been him I had shown an interest in. Three… that's a long story. And I think I'm gonna throw up."

Cami looked over at her and swore, then pulled the car over. "Out the door, please."

Hayley nodded, but that just made it worse. She opened her door and promptly puked onto the curb. "Oh man, bahama mamas definitely taste much better going down than coming up." She closed the car door and leaned back, closing her eyes in hopes that that would help the waves of nausea subside. At least her body had waited to start rebelling until after Cami picked her up. Because puking all over Elijah's very expensive looking suit would probably not have been a great start to this relationship.

Cami laughed. "How many did you have, anyway?"

"I honestly have no idea. Elijah bought my first one. And then as soon as I finished that, I bought the next round. Then Klaus bought a round. And after that, it all became a blur."

"So, that's three. Before you started to lose count."

"Yep. I know Klaus and Elijah were alternating buying. So, enough for me to notice that?"

"All right. I want to hear more about Elijah."

"Cami, can this please wait until tomorrow? It is literally all I can do, right now, to keep what's left of the contents of my stomach in my stomach. I need to go shopping tomorrow. You can come with me, and interrogate me, then. Okay?"

"Fine! But, we are definitely talking about it tomorrow. And no using the headache from your hangover as an excuse."

Hayley just groaned and closed her eyes tighter.

**~Love And War~**

She woke up to a pounding headache. If the Tylenol she had taken the night before had actually helped make her hangover not as bad as it could have been, then she really didn't want to know. Though, at least she had been prepared for that. She grabbed her Tylenol and water bottle off the nightstand and took them before she even lifted her head off the pillow.

Half an hour later, she felt safe getting out of bed. She went to take a shower, then wandered down to the kitchen, where her foster mother was making breakfast.

"Where did you go, last night?"

"Just out. I needed to get away for a bit. Honestly? I went to a bar and had a few drinks to celebrate my twenty-first birthday."

"I'm surprised you didn't stay with Jackson, last night. Celebrate your engagement."

"Yeah, well, not that anybody gives a shit, but that's not exactly something I care to celebrate."

"Why on Earth not? Andrea, I do not understand you. You've always known this was going to happen. I would think you would be excited about it."

"Excited? About being forced to marry a man that I despise? No. Not so much."

"Andrea!"

Hayley pushed her chair back and stood up. "You know what? I'm not really hungry. I have plans with Cami today. So, I'm just going to go. I'll see you later." She grabbed her purse, made sure her phone and wallet were in it, and walked out of the house.

Once outside, she called Cami. "Hey! You ready to go run some errands with me? Get me out of this house for a few hours before I kill someone?"

"Rough morning?"

"You could say that, yeah."

"Yeah, I'll be there in a few minutes. Just sit tight, okay?"

Not that she had much choice in the matter. She sat on the porch and waited for her friend to get there. Which luckily wasn't that long. She got into the passenger seat, and buckled herself in. "Do you have any idea how tempted I am to just have you drive me to the train station, right now?"

"That bad?"

"I hate them so much, Cami. So damn much. I… I would literally rather die than keep living here. And marrying Jackson?" She turned and glared at the other woman. "I cannot believe that you didn't go to my party. And that you didn't tell me what my 'birthday present' from Jackson was going to be."

"I'm sorry, Andi. I couldn't go and watch that fiasco. But, if I had warned you, you wouldn't have gone, either."

"Ya think?!"

"And if you hadn't gone, it would have just caused more problems. I know you want out, and I want to help with that. But, as long as we're living here, we need to play our damn parts. You know that."

"Well, with any luck, my new friends will be able to help me find a way out. Soon. Who knows, maybe I'll even get to leave today."

Cami shook her head. "Which brings us to a more pleasant topic of conversation. Tell me about Elijah."

Hayley laughed. "So, I was puking in the bathroom. Partly out of stress, partly out of the thought of what Jackson wanted to do last night, and partly because that ring is seriously the most hideous thing I've ever seen in my life and is rather nausea inducing even without considering what it stands for."

"Okay, nobody has shown me the ring. Let me see it."

Hayley shoved her left hand under Cami's nose. "Look at this thing, Cami! It's so gross. Like, did anybody actually think I would like this thing?"

"Okay, that is pretty ugly. I would say that I'm surprised that he didn't ask me for advice, but it's not like anybody over there actually cares what you think about anything. But, unless you were so stressed that you didn't realize you had wandered into the men's room, this does not explain how you met Elijah." There was a pause, but before Hayley could answer, Cami screeched. "Oh my God! Tell me you didn't! Though, it would be utterly hilarious if you did."

"No. I wasn't that bad. Rebekah found me. Obviously assumed that I had had too much to drink, or that I was sick. Then thought I might be pregnant and was going to yell at me for being in a bar."

Cami cackled. "I think I'm going to like this girl."

"I think you will. Anyway, I told her that I had run away from my own birthday party because I didn't want to spend my twenty-first birthday in jail waiting for my murder trial. So, she decided to drag me back to her table to hang out with her, her fiance, and her brothers."

"And Elijah was one of the brothers."

"Yep. And, I admit, I was attracted from the moment I saw him."

"I don't blame you. He is certainly a hottie."

"The other two aren't exactly hard on the eyes, either. Marcel joked at one point that he doesn't know what Rebekah sees in him. It was all I could do not to point out that I was sitting with the three hottest guys in the entire bar, and two of them were related to her, so…"

"How much had you had to drink at that point?"

"I hadn't had anything, yet. Nor had I had any when I admitted to Rebekah, Klaus, and Marcel that I was sitting there ogling Elijah. My filter was definitely off last night. It might have had to do with going by a different name."

"Yeah, speaking of that. What's up with the Hayley business, anyway?"

"I told you. I'm leaving. Soon. I was getting used to being called by a different name. They are never going to let Andrea go. So, when I'm ready to run away, Andrea needs to disappear without a trace."

"And Hayley will take her place?"

"That's the plan, yeah."

"So, where are we going, anyway?"

"I need to buy a burner phone so I have a way of keeping in touch with them. I have their phone numbers written down. I'll text them when I have a phone number I can give them. I'll give you that number, too."

"Okay, I'm confused. Do they know who you really are, then? If so, why did Elijah still call you Hayley?"

Hayley shook her head. "No, they don't know who I really am. Rebekah knows my family situation, and by now the others probably do, too. But, none of them know all of it. Just that I'm a domestic abuse victim looking for a way out. Once I get my new phone and get it set up, I'll text them my number. And then we're going to arrange for me to meet with their other brother, so he can look at my phone and make sure nobody can use it to track me."

"Well, you can't go to Rousseau's again. And you can hardly go to one of their houses until you make sure you aren't being tracked."

"Yeah. The last thing I want is to lead any of the family to them. I don't know that any of them would have a problem with killing to keep me in line. And if Jackson ever found out about Elijah…"

Cami pulled into the parking lot of an electronics store. "Speaking of which. We kind of got sidetracked, here. I want to hear more about Elijah."

"He's pretty amazing, actually. He's so sweet. After the others left us alone, he pulled me onto the dancefloor. Actually requested a song for me."

"Not Happy Birthday…"

Hayley laughed. "No, but I was kind of expecting it. Catch by Brett Young. Told me it pretty much summed up his evening."

"And that you were the woman that song was directed at, I'm guessing?"

"Well, he didn't exactly _say_ that, but the implication was definitely there. Okay, he dedicated the song to me, told me it pretty much summed up his evening, and then sang along with the chorus. Who am I kidding? I was definitely the woman it was directed at. Then I tried to kiss him, and he stopped me."

"He stopped you? That makes no sense. Even I could tell that he was attracted to you, just from the two minutes I saw the two of you together. Why on Earth didn't he kiss you?"

"Because I had been drinking. And he says he's not the kind of guy who would kiss a woman unless he was sure she wanted him to. And with me being drunk, he couldn't be sure of that."

"Such a gentleman."

"Yes! Which is frustrating as Hell. I mean, yeah, me making the first move was definitely the alcohol. But, me wanting to kiss him, really wasn't. I wanted it so bad."

"Well, judging by the way he was looking at you when I got there, I'm sure you'll have your chance. Just, be careful, Andi. You are walking a serious tightrope, right now. And if you fall…"

"I won't be going down alone. I know. I'll be taking you, and them, with me. I know that, Cami. And if you want to stop hanging out with me, I understand. All I ask is that you not tell the others about Elijah and his siblings, or that I'm planning on leaving. But, I really don't want to take you down with me if this all blows up in my face."

"You are an idiot. I'm not going anywhere, Andi. I have been wanting to get you away from there since high school. I'm not about to back away now that you're getting close to it actually happening. I just needed to remind you that your new friends may not be expecting the kind of trouble that can come with being your friend. So, be careful. You need to protect them, too."

"I know. But, I can't just walk away from them, either. Rebekah knows I'm in trouble and is determined to help. Elijah… it's up to him. If the baggage I'm bringing with me is too much for him to handle, I will certainly understand that. Same with the others. I'm not going to ask them to take any risks they aren't sure they're willing to take. But, I'm also not going to take the choice away from them. Anymore than I would take it away from you."

"Okay. I just needed to be sure that you knew what you were really getting into, here. So, let's get this phone paid for and set up so we can start figuring out where we go from here."

"We?"

"If you're going to start making actual plans to get out, then I went in. I want to be a part of this. For that matter, I'll probably leave when you do. I've honestly stuck around as long as I have to try to help you."

"All right. Well, it's not like I'm leaving today. It's going to take planning. I realize that. Last night… I was so tempted. But, I know I can't actually just run without a plan."

She paid for her new phone, and they went back out to the car. She plugged the charger into the cigarette lighter and went to work getting everything set up. Fifteen minutes later, she had a new phone number, and a working phone. The first thing she did was enter Cami's, Elijah's, Rebekah's, Klaus's, and Marcel's numbers into her contacts list. And then she took a deep breath and sent a group text to her new friends.

HM: Hey guys, this is Hayley.

EM: Hayley, thank God. I've been worried about you. Rebekah told us what's going on. Kol is prepared to look your phone over for you. We just need to figure out where to meet. We don't want you creating patterns, so Rousseau's is out until we make sure you can't be tracked.

Hayley looked over at Cami. "So, should we arrange to meet with them, now? And if so, do you have any ideas of where?"

"Saint Anne's. Uncle Kieran may not have approved of the company my parents kept, but he never held that against me or Sean. And I think he'd actually like being a part of getting you out of there."

"Make sure he's okay with this. I don't want to put him on the spot."

"He's a priest, Andi. Helping people is a pretty big part of his job description. And churches are meant to be sanctuaries. Even if Uncle Kieran doesn't get personally involved, he really can't say anything about us using the church."

HM: Saint Anne's church? Cami knows the priest, and he's no friend to my family. Also, is it okay if she comes with? I trust her completely, but this isn't just about me.

EM: We'll see you both there. Take care of yourself.

"Okay. We're to meet them at Saint Anne's. Hopefully your uncle really will be okay with us doing this there."

"He'll be fine with it, Andi. I promise. Shit! I need to get used to calling you Hayley, don't I? And let Uncle Kieran know." She pulled her phone out and made a call. "Hey, it's Cami. I have Andi with me. We're going to be meeting with some new friends of hers at Saint Anne's. They're going to be helping to get her out of New Orleans." There was a pause. "Yeah. My sentiments exactly. But, one thing I need you to be aware of if you're going to be there. They know her as Hayley. And she's not ready to come clean about who her family really is. So, try to remember that and not slip and call her Andrea." Another pause. "All right. We'll be there in a few minutes. Thanks."

"So, he's okay with everything?"

"Yeah. He's okay with it. He may actually be there. Said it was about time we actually started taking steps to get you out."

"Is that what that 'my sentiments exactly' line was about?"

"Yeah. So, you'll be surrounded by friends. And, if there's anything Uncle Kieran can do to help, I think he will. Between all of us, we'll figure something out. I promise."

"And I can trust both of you to keep my real name between the three of us? I know it seems silly. I just… I want to leave Andrea behind me when I'm with them. I don't know. Maybe I'm being silly."

"No, it makes sense. And he agrees. We'll keep your cover, don't worry." A few minutes later they were pulling into the church parking lot. And Hayley noticed that there were already two cars there. "Well, Hayley. I guess it's showtime. Or something."

Hayley took a deep breath and got out of the car.


End file.
